Northeast-10 Championship Tournament Central

RINDGE, N.H. (May 10, 2022) -- Postseason baseball returns to Rindge once again on Tuesday night, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team plays host to Assumption in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Northeast Division's second seed, the Ravens will meet the third-seeded Greyhounds at 6 p.m. at Pappas Field.

***PARKING NOTE: Fans who plan on attending should be aware the lower DiGregorio parking lot, immediately adjacent to left field at Pappas Field is CLOSED, due to setup for Saturday's commencement ceremonies. Parking will be available in the upper DiGregorio lot, with access via Mountain Road, and on the main campus.

The contest is one of four single-elimination first-round games around the league on Tuesday. The Northeast Division's other game features top-seeded Southern New Hampshire (37-8, 21-3 NE10) and fourth-seeded Saint Anselm (22-22, 13-11 NE10), though the game will be played at Saint Anselm's Sullivan Park at 3 p.m., due to issues which have rendered SNHU's Penmen Field unplayable since early April. In the Southwest Division, top seed Adelphi (28-11-2, 17-6-1 NE10) will host fourth-seeded Saint Rose (20-28, 12-12 NE10) at 3 p.m., while third-seeded Le Moyne (25-21, 14-9 NE10) will travel to second-seeded Southern Connecticut State (30-12-1, 14-8-1 NE10) at 3:30 p.m.

The winners of the four first-round games will advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, which is set for Thursday through Saturday. Due to SNHU's unplayable field, hosting duties for the weekend portion of the championship will fall to the winner of the game between Franklin Pierce (28-14, 16-8 NE10) and Assumption (21-21, 13-11 NE10).

Tuesday night's game should feature a premium pitching matchup, as two of the NE10's best are expected to take the ball. Franklin Pierce will turn to sophomore right-hander Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.), who holds the NE10's best ERA (1.92), while also ranking third in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (11.51) and fourth in strikeouts (78). Assumption is expected to counter with junior left-hander Jack Choate, who leads the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (16.51), is tied for the lead in strikeouts (96), and ranks fourth in ERA (2.58).

The two have already locked horns once this year, in a seven-inning game in the back end of a doubleheader at Assumption on April 2, and both were on-point. Roche threw 97 pitches (68 strikes) and piled up 13 strikeouts against just one walk and five hits. He was failed by his defense though, and stuck with a no-decision thanks to a pair of unearned runs. Meanwhile, Choate was busy locking down the Franklin Pierce offense, as he threw a complete-game one-hitter on 111 pitches (68 strikes), allowed two runs (one earned), walked three, hit two batters and rang up 14 strikeouts to pitch Assumption to a 3-2 win.

The game was part of a four-game series which saw the Greyhounds take three of four from Franklin Pierce at Rocheleau Field. Assumption swept a doubleheader on Saturday, coming out on top in a 14-9 slugfest in the first game before Choate took care of business in the second game. On Sunday, the Greyhounds took a 6-1 win to open the weekend's second twinbill, before Franklin Pierce salvaged a 9-2 victory in the series finale.

The two teams have not met in the postseason since an NE10 first round matchup in 2016. Paul Covelle authored a four-hit shutout and Kurtis White clubbed a sixth-inning grand slam to lead the Ravens -- who were on their way to the East Region title -- to a 6-0 victory at Pappas Field.

Franklin Pierce is 43-24 (.642) in 20 all-time appearances in the NE10 Championship, and owns the league records for both titles won (6) and finals appearances (11), with its most recent crown coming in 2019. Assumption is 13-20 over 13 trips to the league tournament, is a four-time finalist and was the 1987 NE10 champion. The Greyhounds last advanced to the final in 2009, when they were runners-up to Franklin Pierce.